Collar construction for shirts



June 12,v 1962 w. s. @Ross v.3,038,165

' COLLAR CONSTRUCTION FOR SHIRTS- Filed Jan. 27, 1961 BY K ATTORNEYS 3,038,165 CULLAR CONSTRUCTION FOR SHIRTS Wilbur S. Gross, 92 Wood Hollow Lane, New Rochelle, N.Y. Filed Jan. 27, 1961, Ser. No. 85,284 1 Claim. (Cl. 2-141) This invention relates to shirt collars of the turneddown type, and particularly to collars of such type which carry means for securing the edges defining a necktiereceiving area in desired position.

Various devices and expedients have heretofore been suggested for coupling together the opposed verticallydisposed forward edges of a turned-down collar whereby the same remains straight or neat Some of the devices previously suggested take the form of clips and pins which either grasp or penetrate the collar Wings adjacent the forward edges thereof. These devices, while often neat in appearance, and while detachable from the collar when it is desired to wear the shirt open, are easily lost, and moreover, in many instances permanently mark or damage the collar.

`Included Iamong the expedients previously suggested for maintaining shirt collar wings straight, are tabs permanently secured to the underside of the collar adjacent the forward edges thereof and havingouter end portions extending into the necktie-receiving area, which outer end portions are adapted to be detachably coupled together. Some expedients of this type are adapted for u-se with a removable collar-button which can be passed through button holes in the outer end portions of the tabs, while other expedients of this type incorporate cooperating snap fasteners carried on the outer ends of the tabs. 'Regardless of the exact form which this type of expedient may take, the projecting tabs always extend into the necktiereceiving area, and when the shirt is worn open, the tabs detract from the appearance ofthe shirt.

Thus, with the prior devices and expedients, one was either faced with the common problem of losing yor displacing his collar coupling or maintaining device, or he possessed a shirt which required, for appearance sake, that it lalways be worn closed Iand with a necktie.

The present invention has 'as it primary object the provision of a turned-down shirt collar incorporating means for positively coupling the Wings of the collar together when the shirt is worn closed, which means are always carried by the shirt collar, and which means can be folded and maintained underneath of the collar when it is desired to wear the shirt with the collar in open position.

More specically, a primary object of the present invention is to provide on -a turned-down-type shirt collar tab means for positively coupling the wings of the collar together when the same is worn closed, which tab means can be folded inwardly beneath the underside of the collar and detachably maintained in folded position so as to remain out of sight when the collar is worn open.

States atei (b) To provide such an improvement which is readily i (d) To provide such an improvement which incorpov rates snap fastener elements for securing the tabs in the respective open and closed positions.

The invention will be better understood, and objects 3,038,165 Patented June 12, 1962 other than those specifically set forth hereinabove will become apparent, when consideration is given to the following detailed description. Such description refers to the annexed drawings presenting the preferred and illustrative embodiments of the invention. In the drawings,

FIGURE 1 is 'a front perspective view of a shirt provided with a collar constructed in laccordance with the instant invention, and presents the collar as it would appear in closed position with the connecting tabs releasably joined together;

FIGURE 2 is an enlarged fragmentary front perspective View of the collar wing portions shown in FIGURE l, FIGURE 2 presenting such portions, and the construction of the connecting tabs, in some detail;v i

FIGURE 3 is an enlarged fragmentary perspective view presenting the collar wing porti-ons inthe position shown in FIGURE 2, as the same would appear from the underside of the turned-down collar constructed in accordance with the present-invention;

FIGURE 4 also is an enlarged fragmentary View, similar to FIGURE 3, but presenting the collar wing portions in open position with the tabs attached thereto folded back beneath the underside of the turned-down collar;

`FIGURE 5 is a horizontal elevational view of the collar wing portions shown in FIGURE 4, FIGURE 5 presenting in some detail the overlapping relationship of the folded tabs when secured in a position hidden from View, 4and FIGURE 6 presents fnagmental detailed sectional views, taken on the lines a-a Iand b-b of FIGURE 3, and showing the preferred dispositionk of the interlocking cooperating components of fastener elements secured to the collar.

'If reference is made to FIGURE l, it will be noted that the shirt body, presented in phantom, is generally designated by the numeral 2, and that such shirt body is provided with a collar structure generally designated by the numeral 4. The collar structure 4 may be of any conventional design; however, as shown it comprises an inner upstanding collar wall `6 `adapted to engage the neck of a wearer, and an outer turned-down portion or collar 8.

The turned-down collar 8, in the closed position, as shown in FIGURE l, has two ends 10 and 12 disposed in spaced relation to denne a necktieknot-receiving :area generally designated by the numeral 14. The end portions or wings of the coll-ar terminate at the ends 10" and 12, and secured to such wings are a pair of tabs 16 and 18 which have overlapping outer end portions projecting beyond the ends 10 and 12 of the collar.

As best shown in FIGURE 3, the inner end portion of the tab 16, or first tab, is secured to the underside of the collar 8 adjacent the end 12 thereof, and the tab 18, or second tab, has its inner end portion secured to the underside of collar 8 adjacent the end 10 thereof. For purposes of clarity, it should be understood that, in this description, and the annexed claim, the term inner end portion refers to those portions of the tabs 16 and 18 which underlie the collar 8, whereas the term outer end portion refers to those portions of the tabs which project beyond the ends 10 and 12 of the collar 8 when the tabs are not folded back as explained below.

Preferably, each of the inner end portions of the respective tabs 16 and 18 is secured to the underside of the collar 8 by means of stitching such as that designated by the numerals 24 and 26. As shown in FIGURE 5, the inner end 20 of the tab 16 is preferably folded over prior to the stitching.

In accordance with conventional practice, the collar 8 comprises at least two plies of fabric 7 and 9 which are joined together by the stitches extending parallel to the nished edges thereof. The ply 7 forms the outside ply the inner end portion of said second tab bein'g secured to the underside of said inner ply adjacent the other of said ends by interlocking cooperating components of a male snap-fastener element and by stitching normally hidden from view by said outer ply, and the overlapping outer end portions of said rst and second tabs carrying respectively male and female snap-fastener elements, said snap-fastener elements carried on said overlapping outer end portions of said tabs cooperating -When said shirt collar is worn closed to detachably connect said tabs together to maintain said ends of said collar in closed position, said rst tab having an unattached length between the outer extremity of said male snap fastener element carried by said first tab and said collar greater than at least twice the Width of said last-mentioned male snap-fastener element whereby, when said shirt collar is Worn open, said snap-fastener elements on the inner and outer end portions of each of said tabs cooperate to detachably secure said outer end portions to said inner end portions with said outer end portions folded-over said inner end portions respectively behind said underside of said shirt collar.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,086,907 Goldschmidt July 13, 1937 2,385,638 Norwood Sept. 25, 1945 2,905,945 Winter Sept. 29, 1959 FOREIGN PATENTS 387,708 Great Britain Feb. 13, 1933 162,455 Austria Mar. 10, 1949 473,827 Canada May 22, 1951 

